Master rushed off to the library in a whirlwind, not even stopping for breakfast.
He said he was going to review some knowledge about the Internal Breathing Realm.
Noon came.
Smoke was curling up from the Qiushui Pavilion.
“Not a peep all morning.”
“Is Ice Chunk really okay?”
“Or is it because of what happened during the match yesterday…”
Li Mo’s brain conjured up the scene from yesterday when he had tackled Ice Chunk to the ground.
After all, she was a woman, and it happened in front of everyone.
Could she be too embarrassed to see him?
“That’s unlikely, right?”
Li Mo didn’t think Ying Bing was the type to shy away due to something like that.
After thinking it over, he decided to go upstairs for a look.
Carrying the dishes he’d prepared, he climbed the stairs, knocking on the wooden door with a loud “bang bang.”
No answer.
Li Mo blinked, using a bit of muscle to finally bang the door open.
As soon as he stepped inside, Little Li stood there dumbfounded.
The room was as cold as a freezer.
On the cracked bed, where one would typically sleep, there was a massive ice chunk.
Inside the ice was a girl curled up, not a clue about her fate.
It was Ying Bing.
Truly, an Ice Chunk.
Li Mo: “!”
Hold on, how did you manage to seal yourself away in ice?
There wasn’t even that much water in the room!
That’s just not scientific.
Knock knock knock—
“Ice Chunk.”
“Ice Chunk?”
Li Mo knocked on the ice, called out a couple of times and got no response. He didn’t bother with whether it made sense or not and was ready to smash the ice apart.
Whoosh—
His fist was halfway through the air when he suddenly stopped.
This eerie blue ice was clearly not ordinary condensation; it was unbelievably solid.
Who knows if smashing the ice would leave Ice Chunk as a pile of frozen shards?
“Oh right, Internal Breathing!”
Li Mo suddenly remembered he was a master of the Internal Breathing Realm now.
He reached out and channeled some Internal Breathing into the ice.
Swish swish—
Under his control, the Internal Breathing worked like a fine carving kn*fe, slowly chipping away at the solid ice.
It wasn’t a quick process.
…….
Half an hour later.
Ice Chunk was finally ‘rescued.’
Her eyes were tightly shut, eyebrows furrowed, as if she were having a nightmare, but thankfully her breathing was steady.
Just when Little Li was hesitating whether he’d done a good deed or a bad one.
Ying Bing’s eyelashes stirred slightly.
“You…”
Li Mo wanted to ask her how she was doing, but the words caught in his throat.
What a complicated look in those eyes.
He had never seen Ice Chunk show such an expression towards anything.
In the past, Ying Bing always seemed indifferent and aloof, as if nothing could find a place in her heart.
She always had a clear mind, fully aware of what she was doing.
But now, Li Mo saw…
Confusion?
Complication?
“Were you doing that on purpose yesterday?”
After a long silence, Ying Bing’s voice came softly.
During the match, Li Mo obviously hadn’t displayed any superiority over her.
That could only mean he was hiding his true capabilities.
Ying Bing had her own experiences of hiding her strength on occasions.
Li Mo: “!”
So she was still tangled up over what happened yesterday?
And she ‘shut down’ because of it?
This isn’t right!
Is this still Ice Chunk? Something feels off today?
“Sorry.”
Li Mo gave an awkward smile.
Ying Bing looked down, and he realized he had admitted it.
He really had held back during their match.
Ying Bing’s breathing quickened a bit.
“Why?”
“…..”
Little Li fell silent at the question.
He just had a slip-up; there wasn’t any big reason behind it.
If he had to come up with one…
“Because of the hammer.”
Li Mo pulled out a starry hammer from his sleeve.
“Starfall Hammer?”
Ying Bing blurted out.
Divine weapon?
No… it was just similar in shape, nothing divine about it.
This was just a mystical weapon, a knock-off.
Li Mo: “!”
How did Ice Chunk know that?
Didn’t they agree at Shenbing Peak that this should remain a secret from anyone else?
Could it be… Master?
Thinking about Shang Wu, Little Li realized.
It had to be that Master had had a bit too much to drink one day and accidentally let something slip.
Li Mo sighed and said:
“The Starfall Hammer is indeed with me, but please don’t tell anyone.”
“It was really a moment of desperation; I hope you don’t take it to heart…”
After all, Ice Chunk wasn’t a stranger, so knowing wouldn’t hurt much.
“Moment of desperation…”
Ying Bing seemed to ponder, her eyes flickering as if a fog was clearing inside her heart.
She seemed to understand.
That day, all the commotion at Divine Edge Cave had been because of the recognition of the Starfall Hammer.
That hammer belonged to Li Mo.
Divine weapons shouldn’t easily be displayed to others.
“You… can control divine weapons?”
Ying Bing asked seriously.
“Barely.”
“Unless it’s life or d*ath, I’d suggest against it.”
Li Mo shrugged helplessly.
When his vitality was at its peak, he could at most enhance the power of the ‘Inner Seed’ for a bit, but if he went on for too long, he would run out of steam and get hurt.
“No wonder… no wonder…”
Ying Bing understood.
The system ranked strength based on combat power.
Here, combat power didn’t include external items.
For instance, if someone had a powerful hidden weapon but could only use it once, that weapon wouldn’t count towards their overall combat power.
Li Mo possessed a divine weapon and could barely control it.
Naturally, that divine weapon counted toward his combat power.
The might of a divine weapon…
Ying Bing recalled the scene from that day when Shang Wu had summoned the Starfall Hammer, one strike and the mountains had crumbled, just like a falling star.
Such power was beyond human capability.
Could she withstand it?
The answer was certainly no.
No matter how she dominated her realm, she couldn’t possibly withstand the might of a divine weapon in her Internal Breathing Realm.
Controlling a divine weapon in the Vitality Realm?
Isn’t that like a fantasy?
She couldn’t grasp how he managed to do that.
This… was like discovering a loophole in the system.
As long as she couldn’t withstand the divine weapon, she’d remain under Li Mo’s shadow.
“Now that it’s all out in the open, let’s just eat.”
“Um… alright.”
Ying Bing had faced many greater challenges in her life.
She wasn’t afraid of challenges, only of misunderstanding.
Understanding the reasoning was good enough.
Divine weapons wouldn’t grow old, but her realm was ever-changing.
In the near future, the Starfall Hammer wouldn’t be an obstacle for her.
Perhaps, it could be next time?
If she could get a system reward…
[Warm Reminder: Today is day one of the Loser’s Punishment.]
[Please, Host, strictly enforce the punishment rules.]
For the first time, Ying Bing felt the food lacked flavor.
That strange feeling pressing on her heart surged back, wouldn’t go away.
Sharing the same bed… for a month…
